Per-Key Actions

Customize what happens when you swipe in each of the 8 directions from any key. Assign characters, actions, or macros to each swipe direction.

Quick Summary

What	Description
Purpose	Customize subkey actions per direction
Access	Settings > Activities > Per-Key Customization
Directions	8 directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW)

Understanding Subkeys

Each key has up to 8 subkey positions:

    NW   N   NE
      \  |  /
   W -- KEY -- E
      /  |  \
    SW   S   SE

When you short swipe in a direction, the corresponding subkey is activated.

How to Customize

Step 1: Open Customization

1. Open CleverKeys Settings (gear icon)
2. Navigate to Activities section
3. Tap Per-Key Customization

Step 2: Select a Key

1. The keyboard layout is displayed
2. Tap the key you want to customize
3. A detail panel opens showing all 8 directions

Step 3: Edit a Direction

1. Tap the direction you want to change
2. Choose from:
   • Character: Type a letter, symbol, or emoji
   • Action: Select from built-in actions
   • Remove: Clear the subkey

Step 4: Save Changes

Changes are saved automatically. Tap Done to return.

Available Actions

Action	Description
Characters	Any Unicode character
Delete Word	Delete previous word
Cursor Left/Right	Move cursor
Home/End	Jump to line start/end
Tab	Insert tab character
Escape	Send escape key
Undo/Redo	Undo or redo action
Copy/Cut/Paste	Clipboard operations (terminal-aware — see below)
Select All	Select all text

Common Customizations

Adding Frequently Used Symbols

Place symbols you use often in easy-to-reach positions:

Key	Direction	Suggestion
e	South	@ (email)
s	East	$ (currency)
p	North	% (percent)

Programming Shortcuts

For developers:

Key	Direction	Action
Shift	NW	Escape
Shift	SE	Tab
a	NW	Home
a	SW	End

Navigation Optimization

Put navigation actions where you can reach them:

Key	Direction	Action
Backspace	West	Delete Word
Space	Subkeys	Cursor movement

Pinned Clipboard Actions

Insert pinned clipboard entries directly via swipe gestures, without opening the clipboard panel. Five positional commands are available:

Command	Description
paste_pinned_1	Insert 1st pinned clipboard entry
paste_pinned_2	Insert 2nd pinned clipboard entry
paste_pinned_3	Insert 3rd pinned clipboard entry
paste_pinned_4	Insert 4th pinned clipboard entry
paste_pinned_5	Insert 5th pinned clipboard entry

Pinned entries are ordered most-recently-pinned first. If you request an index that exceeds the number of pinned items (e.g., paste_pinned_3 with only 2 pins), a toast notification tells you how many are available instead of inserting anything.

To set up:

1. Go to Settings > Activities > Per-Key Customization
2. Select a key and direction
3. Choose Command as the action type
4. Search for “paste_pinned” or browse the Clipboard category
5. Select the desired slot (1-5)

[!TIP] Pin your most-used text snippets (email signature, address, code boilerplate) and bind them to swipe directions for instant insertion.

Terminal-Aware Actions

Some actions adapt their behavior when typing in terminal apps like Termux:

Action	Standard Apps	Terminal Apps
Paste	Android paste API	Ctrl+V key event
Copy	Android copy API	Standard
Cut	Android cut API	Standard

This is automatic — the same paste customization works in both regular apps and terminals.

Custom Text Input

When using the Text Input action type, you can enter up to 4096 characters per action. This is useful for long templates, code snippets, or multi-line text blocks.

The text input field includes a paste button (icon in the trailing position) for pasting from the system clipboard. This is provided because Compose dialogs do not always receive paste commands from the IME reliably.

Tips and Tricks

• Start small: Customize a few keys first, learn them, then add more
• Muscle memory: Keep frequently used actions in consistent positions
• Backup: Export your customizations before making major changes
• Per-layout: Customizations can be layout-specific

[!TIP] Consider your typing patterns. If you frequently type certain symbols, put them in easy-to-swipe positions.

Resetting Customizations

To restore defaults:

1. Go to Settings > Activities > Backup & Restore
2. Use the restore function to reset to default configuration

Settings

Setting	Location	Description
Per-Key Customization	Activities section	Visual subkey editor
Backup & Restore	Activities section	Save/restore customizations

Related Features

• Short Swipes - How to trigger subkeys
• Backup & Restore - Save customizations
• Extra Keys - Add custom keys to bottom row

Technical Details

See Per-Key Actions Technical Specification.